The Operations Room: A Podcast for COO’s

In this episode we discuss: AI Native Ops, How Brex Rebuilt Operations. We are joined by Camilla Matias, COO at Brex.

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We chat about the following:

1. What actually breaks first when a company scales: people, process, or structure—and how do you know?
2. How do you build operational rigour without killing speed and culture in a fast-growing business?
3. What does “good onboarding” really look like beyond just paperwork and checklists?
4. When tools or systems fail—how do you know if it’s the software or your implementation?
5. What’s the difference between building processes for today vs. building systems that scale for the next 12–24 months?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilla-matias-06345a105/

Camilla Matias Morais is the Chief Operating Officer at Brex, where she leads global operations and drives the company’s execution and scale.

She joined Brex in 2018 as Head of Finance and has since held multiple leadership roles, including VP of Finance and SVP of Global Operations, before becoming COO in 2024. During this time, she has played a key role in building the systems and structures that support Brex’s rapid growth.

Before Brex, Camilla worked across finance, investment, and strategy roles at organisations including The Kraft Heinz Company and Victoria Capital Partners.

She holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA) and is known for bringing clarity, structure, and operational rigour to high-growth companies.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

00:00 – Intro, host banter, and setup of the episode tone.

02:30 – Introduction of Camilla + context around her role and operational scope.

05:30 – Early discussion on scaling challenges and what starts to break as companies grow.

07:20 – Deep dive into onboarding systems → moving from informal to structured 0–6 month processes.

09:30 – Discussion on tools (HiBob → Rippling) and implementation challenges.

12:30 – Balancing structure vs flexibility in operations.

16:00 – Performance reviews, documentation, and accountability systems.

20:00 – Operational maturity: what “good” looks like at different stages of company growth.

24:00 – People vs process tension.

29:00 – Reflections on mistakes, lessons learned, and what they’d do differently.

34:00 – Closing thoughts, key takeaways, and wrap-up

In this episode we discuss: Puzzle setting, not goal setting. We are joined by Radhika Dutt, Author, Speaker, Consultant.

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We chat about the following with Radhika Dutt:

1. What if traditional goal setting is actually limiting innovation rather than driving it?
2. How might teams think differently if they framed challenges as “puzzles” instead of targets to hit?
3. Are OKRs pushing organisations toward short-term optimisation instead of real problem-solving?
4. How can leaders create space for curiosity and exploration in environments obsessed with metrics?
5. What would change inside your company if teams focused on solving the right problem rather than just hitting the next KPI?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/radhika-dutt/
2. https://www.radicalproduct.com/
3. https://www.radicalproduct.com/toolkit/#OHLToolkit

Radhika Dutt is the author of Radical Product Thinking: The New Mindset for Innovating Smarter which has been translated into Chinese and Japanese. The methodology she introduced in her first book is now used in over 40 countries. She is an entrepreneur, speaker, and product leader who has participated in five acquisitions, two of which were companies that she founded. She is currently Advisor on Product Thinking to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Singapore’s central bank and financial regulator), and does consulting and training for organizations ranging from high-tech startups to multinationals on building radical products that create a fundamental change. Radhika has built products in a wide range of industries including broadcast, media and entertainment, telecom, advertising technology, government, consumer apps, robotics, and even wine. She graduated from MIT with an SB and M.Eng in Electrical Engineering, and speaks nine languages.

Radhika is now working on her second book – it’s about why goals and targets backfire and what actually works.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

14:25 — Introducing the concept of “puzzle setting”

24:06 — What puzzle setting actually means

26:46 — Why puzzles embrace uncertainty

27:49 — The Rubik’s Cube analogy

33:22 — The “Three O’s” of puzzle setting

35:17 — Turning growth goals into puzzles

38:08 — Breaking big puzzles into smaller ones

42:46 — The shift from proving to learning

47:25 — Building critical thinking into teams

54:44 — Real business impact of puzzle thinking

In this episode we discuss: The BizzOps Anti-Playbook. We are joined by Vessela Clewley, Strategy & Biz Ops Executive.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Vessela Clewley:

1. What does it really take to step into leadership for the first time — and why do so many people underestimate the shift?
2. How do you build confidence as a leader when you don’t yet feel “ready”?
3. What’s the difference between managing tasks and truly leading people?
4. How can organisations better support first-time managers before they burn out?
5. What unspoken pressures do women in leadership roles carry — and how can we address them more openly?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/vessclewley/
2. https://sbohub.substack.com/
3. https://sbohub.gumroad.com/l/TheSBOAntiPlaybook

Vessela is an accomplished fCOO with a Strategy & BizOps background. She brings the power of US-style Strategy & Business Operations to Europe.

She has an illustrious career spanning Hopin, WeWork, Uber and other start ups. She has won global awards by the likes of WeWork & McKinsey, relaunched products like UberExec, and negotiated 7-figure deals for Hopin on walks in Regents park.

She is known for bringing a strategic, analytical, systems-driven approach to building companies. Her approach brings clarity, breaks down silos, and unlocks revenue growth. She puts company over functions; analytics over ego; and outcomes over optics.

Vessela typically partners with Seed–Series B founders who value analytical decision-making and high-velocity execution.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

00:00 – Introduction & framing the conversation

~06:20 – The reality of becoming a first-time manager

~13:45 – Imposter syndrome & self-doubt

~20:30 – The responsibility shift

~28:10 – Feedback, difficult conversations & growth

~35:50 – Building confidence through action

~44:15 – The gendered expectations in leadership

~52:00 – Creating supportive environments for new leaders

~59:40 – Advice to aspiring leaders

In this episode we discuss: Collaborative AI for revenue teams. We are joined by Mylo Portas, CEO of Choras.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Donna McCurley:

1. What actually makes a podcast commercially sustainable — beyond downloads and vanity metrics?
2. How do you build creative systems that scale without killing originality?
3. What does it really take to grow an independent podcast network in today’s crowded market?
4. Where do most founders misunderstand the operational complexity of media businesses?
5. Is podcasting still early… or are we already in the consolidation phase?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/myloportas/

Mylo Portas is the co-founder of Chora, an award-winning London-based podcast studio and network. He works with global brands, media organisations and creators to build distinctive, story-driven podcasts that cut through. Passionate about the intersection of creativity and commercial strategy, Mylo focuses on building sustainable podcast brands — not just shows.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

In this episode we discuss: How to really use AI in your GTM team. We are joined by Donna McCurley, Creator of the AI Sales Operating System™ (AiSOS).

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Donna McCurley:

1. Who should actually “own” AI inside your GTM function — and what happens if nobody does?
2. What does real AI governance look like in practice — beyond policies and buzzwords?
3. Are AI agents creating hidden shadow systems inside your organisation?
4. Why are most AI rollouts in sales failing to drive measurable revenue impact?
5. How do you move from AI experimentation to a true AI sales operating system?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnamccurley/

Donna McCurley is the creator of the **AI Sales Operating System™ (AiSOS)** and a go-to advisor for SaaS revenue teams who want to turn AI from “extra noise” into a real growth engine. She leads Global Sales Enablement teams and has helped 100s of sellers cut out busywork, triple their pipeline coverage, and adopt AI workflows that actually stick.

With a background that spans classroom teaching, Fortune 500 enablement leadership, and consulting with companies like McAfee and HPe, Donna has built a reputation for stripping away complexity and focusing on what truly drives revenue. Her work blends proven sales methodologies with practical AI deployment—think Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Gong, and SalesLoft stitched together into one coherent system sellers can actually use.

At her core, Donna is obsessed with solving a simple but critical problem: too many sales teams are drowning in admin work, bloated tech stacks, and outdated playbooks. Through AiSOS, she’s building a future where sellers spend less time clicking around and more time closing deals.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

In this episode we discuss: AI in the future of work. We are joined by Agata Nowicka, Managing Partner of the AI Visionaries Accelerator.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Agata Nowicka:

1. Are high-growth founders underestimating the role of distribution from day one?
2. At Series B and beyond, is your monetisation model actually aligned with value delivery?
3. Could your onboarding and sales process be quietly eroding the value you promise?
4. Will AI fluency soon become a non-negotiable capability in your workforce?
5. Are you building an AI-first company — or just layering AI onto old plumbing?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/agata-nowicka/
2. https://femalefoundry.substack.com/
3. https://www.aivisionaries.co/
4. https://www.femaleinnovationindex.com/

Agata Nowicka is the Managing Partner at AI Visionaries—an AI accelerator launched with Google to scale Europe’s most innovative AI and deeptech startups. With 12 years of experience as an angel, VC investor and founder of two tech businesses in the U.S., Hong Kong, and the UK (one exit), she is also the author of the Female Innovation Index—the largest analysis of female-led innovation and funding in Europe. Agata holds an MBA from Wharton and INSEAD and is an advisor to startups and accelerators including Techstars, the University of Cambridge Founders Accelerator, and Village Capital.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

39:04 – Introduction & Founder Focus Shift

42:04 – Monetisation Beyond Revenue

45:04 – Sales & Onboarding as Value Proof

48:04 – AI Fluency as a Workforce Standard

51:04 – Moving to an AI-First Model

54:05 – Business Complexity & “Plumbing”

48:20 – Resilience in High-Growth Environments

49:49 – Leadership in an AI Era

57:05 – The Future Belongs to Visionary Founders

In this episode we discuss: What is the CEO’s job? We are joined by Keith Wallington, Chairperson and Investor in B2B SaaS businesses

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Keith Wallington:

1. What actually changes in an operating model as a company scales – and what shouldn’t change, even under pressure?
2. How do you design an organisation that moves fast without creating chaos or decision fatigue?
3. When does adding structure genuinely unlock performance, and when does it quietly slow teams down?
4. How can operators tell the difference between a scaling problem and a leadership problem?
5. What questions should COOs be asking before a Series B or major growth phase to avoid painful rework later?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithwallington/

Focussed on Series A and Growth stage B2B SaaS businesses that deliver vital, core services to their customers.

Keith has led strategy and execution in technology businesses since the 1990’s, driving growth in Europe, the USA and Africa: His experience in driving online business models spans Retail Banking, Telecommunications, Online Live Broadcasting and Software as a Service (SaaS): He has led strategy and execution initiatives at businesses including Microsoft, Standard Bank, Omnicom/TBWA, MTN Group and Mimecast.

From 2008 – 2014 Keith spent 6 years driving growth at Mimecast, best in class and global leader in SaaS based email security, archiving and continuity: Here he assumed a number of C Level roles, including COO, spanning most of the business from Marketing to Customer Experience to Technical Operations as he championed scalable, efficient growth during this phase of hyper growth (from $6m to over $110m Annual Recurring Revenue) and global expansion from the UK base.

After preparing Mimecast for IPO Keith refocused his attention to support businesses on their growth journey. Keith invests in and assumes board roles with post Series A businesses. He engages directly and also collaborates with Venture Capital and Private Equity teams to co-invest and add depth to portfolio company boards.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

05:30 – Why operating models break during growth

12:45 – The tension between speed and structure

19:30 – Horizontal vs vertical operating models

26:00 – Decision-making at scale

30:00 – What scaling exposes about leadership teams

38:30 – Preparing for Series B (before it’s too late)

47:00 – Operating principles that actually stick

55:30 – Signals your operating model needs a reset

In this episode we discuss: The economics of VC funds. We are joined by Edward Barrow, Co-Founder & CEO @ Cloud Capital.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Edward Barrow:

1. Why do so many fast-growing companies only realise cloud spend is a problem once it’s already out of control?
2. What actually breaks when finance and engineering don’t share a common language around cloud costs?
3. Is “visibility” into cloud spend enough, or does it create a false sense of control?
4. How should operators think about financial risk when infrastructure spend is variable by design?
5. What does good cloud cost governance look like without slowing teams down?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebarrow/
2. https://www.cloudcapital.co/

Ed has spent his career helping high-growth tech companies align strategy with execution — first in marketing tech, and now in cloud finance.

After co-founding Idio, an AI-driven platform used by global B2B brands, he led the business through rapid growth, M&A, and a successful exit to Episerver (now Optimizely). Post-acquisition, he helped shape global product and M&A strategy across multiple acquisitions and 400% growth.

Today, Ed is the co-founder and CEO of Cloud Capital, where he helps finance and engineering leaders forecast and optimize cloud spend — without taking on financial risk. The platform gives finance teams clarity and control while enabling engineering to move fast without waste. Ed and his team are building the cloud finance layer for the next generation of tech companies — turning cloud spend into a strategic advantage, not a liability.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

00:00–04:10 – Setting the scene: operator fatigue, reality after the “honeymoon phase,” and why this conversation matters now

06:05 – Ed Barrow’s background: from AI startup founder to cloud finance problem-solver

09:30 – The real problem with cloud spend: why “usage-based pricing” breaks traditional finance models

13:45 – Finance vs engineering: how misaligned incentives create hidden waste

18:20 – Why visibility alone doesn’t change behaviour (and what actually does)

22:50 – The risk operators don’t see: cloud spend as an uncapped financial liability

27:40 – Forecasting cloud costs without slowing teams down

32:10 – What good cloud governance looks like in high-growth companies

36:30 – Turning cloud spend into a strategic advantage, not just a cost-control exercise

In this episode we discuss: Discovering Your Strengths and Living The Life That You Want. We are joined by Alicia Diamond, COO and Transformation Leader.

Love The Operations Room? Please support us by rating and reviewing it here.

We chat about the following with Alicia Diamond:

1. What happens when you stop waiting for “perfect clarity” and start sharing half-formed ideas with your team?
2. How much operational value is lost because your best thinking happens outside formal meetings?
3. Are your leadership decisions driven by energy and context — or by calendar availability?
4. What if the real bottleneck in your organisation isn’t process, but permission to think out loud?
5. How do you create space for strategic thinking when the operational noise never really stops?

1. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicia-diamond/
2. https://aliciadiamond.substack.com/
3. https://www.aliciadiamond.com

Alicia has been the right-hand, “figure it out” partner to 5 CEOs as a 2x COO and 2x Chief of Staff. She's helped visionary CEOs across diverse industries to get their most transformative ideas unstuck and into action. Highlights include launching the Long-Term Stock Exchange and proving the bottom-line impact for listed clients and founding/managing the Chinese factory behind a portfolio of direct-to-consumer brands.

She sharpened her operational prowess under the scrutiny of top-tier investors including a16z, Founders Fund, Collaborative Fund, Obvious Ventures while working in the Lean Startup methodology, at Eric Ries' startup stock exchange.

Recently, Alicia expanded from working in tech into partnering with SMB owners. She helps visionary owners achieve their growth goals through scalable technology, best-in-class operating practices, and people-first leadership.

To learn more about Beth and Brandon or to find out about sponsorship opportunities click here.

05:45 — The power of unplanned conversations

06:55 — Why half-formed ideas are a leadership superpower

08:30 — Meetings vs momentum

11:00 — Energy as an operational constraint

14:15 — The danger of over-polished thinking

18:00 — Creating environments where ideas can be safely unfinished

22:10 — Leadership presence over process

26:30 — Rethinking how and when strategy happens

30:45 — What operators can do differently tomorrow

In this episode we discuss: The COO's Guide to The Jigsaw Puzzle Company. We are joined by Cameron Herold, he is the founder of the COO Alliance and author of the Second in Command.

We chat about the following:

1. How can a COO use the “jigsaw puzzle” metaphor to bring clarity and alignment to a fast-growing company?
2. What should a new COO actually do in their first 30, 60, and 90 days to build trust and avoid missteps?
3. How do COOs become the “leash, not the choke collar”, supporting visionary CEOs without slowing them down?
4. What simple systems can COOs introduce early on that create long-term impact without overwhelming the business?
5. How do you determine whether you’re truly operating as a COO… or actually a VP of Ops or GM in disguise?

References:

Cameron Herold

COO Alliance

YouTube Channel

Biography:

Founder of the COO Alliance & Invest In Your Leaders Course

Author of Vivid Vision & The Second In Command

Meet Cameron Herold, the mastermind behind the exponential growth of hundreds of companies. As the founder of the COO Alliance and the Invest In Your Leaders course, Cameron is a dynamic consultant who has coached some of the biggest names in business, including Sprint Telecom and a monarchy in the Middle East. Known as the "CEO Whisperer", Cameron has a reputation for guiding his clients to double their profits and revenue in just three years or less.

Cameron's entrepreneurial journey began at a young age, and by 35, he had helped build his first two $100 million dollar companies. But his greatest achievement came as the COO of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, where he engineered the company's spectacular growth from $2 million to $106 million in revenue and from 14 to 3,100 employees - all in just six years.

Cameron is not just a successful business leader, but also a captivating speaker. The current publisher of Forbes magazine, Rich Karlgaard, stated "Cameron Herold is the best speaker I've ever heard...he hits grand slams”.

When he's not on stage, Cameron continues to teach through his Second In Command podcast and his bestselling books, including Vivid Vision, Meetings Suck, Free PR, Double Double, and The Miracle Morning for Entrepreneurs.

Cameron is a top-rated international speaker and has been paid to speak in 26 countries and on all 7 continents, including Antarctica in early 2022. He is also the top-rated lecturer at EO/MIT's Entrepreneurial Masters Program and a powerful and effective speaker at CEO and COO leadership events worldwide.

Summary:

00:03:35 – The COO as a jigsaw puzzle builder

00:11:29 – How to use AI as a COO (and where it goes wrong)

00:11:52 – Advice for the first 90 days

00:14:26 – Why early relationship-building matters

00:15:20 – “Be the leash, not the choke collar”

00:16:20 – How to say “no” without shutting people down

00:28:00 – What’s missing in EOS & how COOs fill the gap

00:32:42 – Pick satellite projects, not messy ones

00:33:16 – Avoid big disruptive changes early

00:36:00 – Are you really a COO… or something else?

00:59:23 – Final takeaway